Shuttleworth launches SEND learning project for pupils

The Bedfordshire attraction has launched SENsing Shuttleworth, a project focused on developing and enhancing special education needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.

Sensory resources are integrated into all school visits, providing more opportunities for hands-on exploration so all young people with SEND and/or sensory processing differences can access more meaningful learning.

Visits for people with severe or profound and multiple learning disabilities will not be centred on understanding history, instead they will be developed to prioritise sensory engagement with the collection and its exhibits.

For example, shining sensory lights on the reflective surfaces of planes to illuminate them and draw attention to them; this supports visual skills in tracking, scanning, and processing objects.

The collection can also offer sensory stories, making the most of the acoustics and calm, exploring what it might be like to fly in an open cockpit or how flax seeds are turned into aircraft skins.

Learning co-ordinator, Matthew Studdert-Kennedy, said, “We’re really excited to be launching SENsing Shuttleworth. We hope that we will be able to significantly improve our SEND offering in order to be an accessible and appealing cultural space for all audiences.” 

Shuttleworth currently offers educational visits to all school levels. Visits include access to the collection of vintage aircraft, vehicles and machinery and the Swiss Garden, a Regency Garden which forms part of the Grade II registered park of Old Warden.

A grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) has been used to help develop the project, accessing expert support, including commissioning sensory consultants Collar & Cuffs as facilitators. The project will also help to develop workshops and sensory resources to be utilised by local SEND school representatives and community groups.